Staff at a South Lakes zoo are preparing for a very special new arrival.
Milnthorpe’s Lakeland Wildlife Oasis is set to welcome a fossa – a Madagascan cat-like predator on the brink of extinction in the wild.
The fossa, born last year at Chester Zoo, is the great-great-granddaughter of Perdy, who lived at Lakeland Wildlife Oasis for 14 years before she died in 2021 at the record age of 22.
Due to 90 per cent habitat loss, it is estimated that there are fewer than 2,600 surviving in the wild.
The Wildlife Oasis is part of the European Captive Breeding Programme, a vital lifeline to preserving the species. Perdy started a legendary legacy, with healthy offspring going on to help propagate the species in zoos across Europe.
Her great-great-granddaughter is due to arrive in spring and will be the prospective new girlfriend for the zoo’s male, Mango.
Dan Eccles, manager of living collections, said: “We’re one of only six places in the UK where you can you can see fossa.
“If the introductions go well with Mango, they’ll be a breeding pair. It’s an incredible opportunity for the Oasis, our visitors, and fossa survival.”
However the path to welcoming the patter of small fossa paws still needs to be paved, with hard work and fundraising, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis said.
The zoo has launched a crowdfunding page for donations towards building a bespoke fossa penthouse.
A planned new triple-size enclosure will allow the new arrival to settle into her own territory, while able to see and communicate with Mango in his bachelor pad.
Normally solitary creatures, introductions will be done slowly and carefully throughout 2024, timed for the female reaching maturity in 2025.
Dan added: “The right environment will be vital to encouraging relaxed, natural behaviour.
“We’re incredibly grateful for every donation, however small, which will allow us to say thank you by providing the best fossa views possible. Having Perdy’s great-great-granddaughter here, with fingers crossed for future developments, is such an exciting thing to happen!
The crowdfunder page is at https://gofund.me/5445b2bb
